Bitter Taste
by Loveless6825
Summary: What if the Agni Kai hadn't just scarred Zuko, but took his sight away almost completely? Rated T for language and a vengeful Zuko, mostly canon. No pairings whatsoever.
1. Chapter 1

Bitter Taste

**A/N: Hey, there. So last night I was wondering what it would be like if the Agni Kai hadn't just given Zuko a scarred eye...but took his sight away completely. I'm not sure if it's been done before, but...I promise that if it has, this one will be very different from the others. You'll see why.**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I don't own Avatar. I would love to own Zuko, Toph, and Iroh.**

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His head hurt. No, Zuko corrected himself, flexing his fingers from underneath a thick blanket, his entire body hurt. Soreness radiated through his limbs, originating from his chest; he felt like he'd been kicked down and stepped on by a particularly nasty mule. Even his toes ached, although he didn't understand why little flesh nuggets sticking out of bigger flesh nuggets would hurt in the first place.

_At least I'm not dead,_ he thought, shifting a little under a mountain of cloth. He couldn't remember what had happened, only a large flash of light and—oh. The Agni Kai. Father had burned him.

_His actions were justified,_ a small voice in his head protested. Zuko squashed the voice—Father's actions were not justified. He had burned his firstborn son, and why? Because he had spoken out in a war meeting. If anything, he should have been reprimanded and sent to fight an Agni Kai with the lazy idiot he had spoken against.

"Nephew."

The voice was quiet, but he heard it all the same. Uncle Iroh?

"Prince Zuko, are you awake?"

"I'm awake." His mouth felt like it was filled with cotton. Had he swallowed a few chunks of gravel during the time where he had been unconscious? Maybe Azula had shoved them down his throat. "What happened, Uncle? I can't remember."

Iroh sat down on the edge of his nephew's bed, placing a hand over the boy's sweaty forehead. The fever hadn't yet gone down; it would probably take a few more days for him to be completely cured. "You refused to fight, so my brother burned the left side of your face. Infection set in a day later...we weren't sure if you would be able to keep your eye. Don't worry—it's still there. But I don't know if you'll..." He trailed off.

Frowning, Zuko said, "Uncle?" He tried to open his eyes, but they seemed to be glued shut. "I can't open my eyes."

With a wince, Iroh shook his head vigorously even though he knew his nephew couldn't see him. "Keep them closed for a little while longer," he pleaded. "Let your eyes heal. The infection was bad, and it would be very easy to cause damage to the tissue."

Zuko ignored him. He opened his eyes with an almighty wrench, and scanned the room. "Why is it so dark?" he snapped. "Turn on a light."

"The light is on, Prince Zuko."

He turned his head about and finally spotted the light: a very faint pinprick of red. "That's a really dim light," he finally said.

As he tried to sit up, Iroh pushed him back down. Zuko looked over at him, only to see a red silhouette. There was nothing else around him—only a spot of scarlet, and the outline of a person. "It's a very bright light, actually," Iroh was saying, but the words sounded like they were coming from the end of a very long tunnel; he struggled to put all the pieces together in his mind. His eyes wouldn't open...he could only see things that gave off heat, and even then they were hard to make out...and there was something about an infection... "There was an infection?" His voice was small.

"A very bad one. I'm afraid it spread to both eyes, causing much damage...Prince Zuko, would you like some tea? It'll help with the shock," Iroh ventured. "Jasmine tea—"

Tea? At a time like this? "Uncle, am I blind?" Zuko inquired.

His uncle didn't answer, but hugged him instead. Zuko blinked a few times, trying to see something other than red and black. He...was blind? No, that couldn't be. For a moment he wanted to cry. Before he could, realization struck him like a lightning bolt.

_It's Father—no, Ozai's fault. He took my sight away._

"What does Father have to say?" he wondered aloud. "Does he even know about my"—the word was sharp in his throat—"blindness?"

_He goes blind, and the very first thing he asks about is what his father thinks,_ Iroh thought incredulously. "He knows," he said slowly. "He decided to banish you a few minutes after he was told about it."

And now he was banished. First Ozai took away his ability to see, and now he was going to send him away to die. Fantastic. What a stupendous parent. But wait...he could use this to his advantage, if he was careful. A plan started to form; he bowed his head to hide a slight smile. "Is there any way for me to come back and become the Fire Lord?" he asked.

Iroh sighed, leaning back in his chair and rubbing his weary eyes. "You have to find and capture the Avatar. If you bring him back to the Fire Nation, you'll regain your honor."

"He wants me to capture the Avatar?" Zuko frowned. That would be difficult. Nobody knew where the Avatar was, so what made his father think that _he_ did? _That's because he doesn't. He really doesn't want me to come home, does he?_ he mused, feeling almost amused. "And I'll be able to come home if I do?"

"That's right," Iroh agreed.

Excellent. He had the perfect plan. "I'll do it," Zuko decided. Iroh slumped in his seat, resigning himself to years of traveling, searching, and trying to get his nephew to see the wrong in his brother's actions. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by Zuko. "I'll be a good son and find the Avatar for my dear father. And when I do..." Iroh's heart skipped a few beats when a crazed grin spread across the Prince's face. "And when I do, the Avatar will kill him for me."

_What has Ozai done?_ thought Iroh helplessly, as Zuko brought himself to tears with his laughter.

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**A/N: Ack...it feels a little stiff, and I think Iroh or Zuko might be OOC. Maybe I'll loosen up a bit later on...because this is probably going to be a very long fanfiction.**

**So how do you all like psychotic Zuko? He'll be mostly the same, except for his plan to murder the Fire Lord. No biggie, right? Haha.**

**If you're wondering why Zuko didn't totally break down and start bawling from his loss of sight, it's because he's still in shock. He's being irrational and not thinking right.**


	2. Chapter 2

Bitter Taste

**A/N: Only two reviews? Man, you guys suck big time. Haha, just kidding. Thanks to whoever reviewed, favorited, etc. I really appreciate it.**

**This chapter begins when Aang and Katara accidentally set off the trap inside of the Fire Nation ship, and Zuko comes to confront the Southern Water Tribe.**

**Disclaimer: It's called fanfiction. I think that speaks for itself.**

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Zuko kept an eye on the soldier to his left as he walked down the ramp of his ship, watching for any movements that would indicate a change in direction or elevation. Someone screamed: startled, he looked down to see the outline of a person, charging at him. They held their hands oddly...were they holding a weapon? He kicked the possible weapon out of the way, and was immensely satisfied to feel something solid make contact with his foot and soar away.

_Yes!_ Those years of training had finally paid off. Fighting to keep a smug grin off of his face, Zuko kicked the person again, sending them face-first into the snow.

Ice crunched under his feet. Treading carefully, Zuko made his way over to where some more outlines were. They were far more faded than the ones he had seen so far, probably from a lack of heat in the air and the thick furs they wore.

Scanning the silhouettes for any sign of an old man, he demanded, "Where are you hiding him?" Another quick scan. The natives were quiet—perhaps they didn't speak the same language? As he took another look at the outlines, he spotted one that made him pause. The natives gasped in horror as he dragged one of the people forward. "Avatar! I've found your hiding place, so now you'll just come with me peacefully. I don't want to use violence on an old man."

There was an extremely awkward silence. Confused and frustrated, Zuko gave the Avatar a little shake. "Well? Don't you have anything to say?"

"Uh, sir," one of the soldiers whispered, "that's a woman."

Oh, no. He had done it again. "I knew that!" he snapped, letting go of the elderly woman. Yet another war cry sounded from behind; whirling around, he ducked underneath the attacker from before and listened as they crashed to the ground. He blasted some fire at the crumpled silhouette as a warning: he wouldn't be so lenient next time.

_Clang._

Zuko saw stars as he toppled backward and landed hard on the ground. Blood trickled out of a slice on his forehead and into his useless eyes. _Agni_...what the hell just hit him? A block of ice? "Show no fear!" Huh? What had that little girl just said? Was it even a girl who had said it? He didn't know anymore...were the people here all gender-benders? He could have sworn that old woman was a man... "Keep the attacker away from me," he said, staggering to his feet and mopping at his forehead with his sleeve.

The soldier on his right dealt with the attacker while the one on the left helped him stand upright. Whatever had been thrown at him had done quite a bit of damage. "Are you all right, sir?"

"Fine," he replied, fighting the urge to laugh. Uncle was going to be so disappointed—he had fought off the warrior without getting so much as scratched, but as soon as they threw a rock or...whatever...he was completely helpless.

_I need to train harder. Especially against rocks._

Something rammed into the back of his legs and sent him flying; his nose began to bleed and the gash on his forehead throbbed. He could hear cheering in the background. Were they really that upset about him mistaking someone's gender, to cheer and laugh when he got hurt? Ugh. Barbarians, the lot of them! It was an honest mistake that anyone could make!

"Hey, Katara. Hey, Sokka." Girl or boy? He was going with boy this time. Probably about nine or ten.

"Hi...Aang." The voice matched the scream. A boy—he was sure this time—around his own age, maybe, seeing as his voice had cracked with each war cry. "Thanks for coming."

This time one of the soldiers had to help him up. His hair was pushed out of his eyes for him and the blood was wiped off of his mouth. He watched them back away as he got into the stance his uncle had drilled into him, but instead of the wonderful feeling of fire he felt snow instead. "Are you the Avatar, old man?"

Another awkward silence. _Life really hates me, doesn't it?_ "Old woman," he amended quickly. Still nothing. _What about the kid from before? Aang, or something?_ "Little boy?"

"Aang?" a girl—it had to be a girl!—whispered from a few meters away, as his attacker said slowly, "No, way."

In unison, he and the Avatar began to circle each other. "I've waited years for this," Zuko said, relishing the words. Finally, he had found the Avatar! His plans were going (almost) perfectly! "Training, meditating, in preparation for our encounter. But you're just a child..."

"Well, you're just a teenager," the Avatar said. His outline cocked its head a bit.

_Now to get him to come with me without a fuss._ Blasting fire at the little silhouette, he watched as the blur of heat vanished in midair. _He already knows Airbending, but what about the other elements?_

For the third time that day, he heard screams. _Who did I hurt now? Did I burn someone? _He hadn't meant to hurt anybody. "If I go with you, will you promise to leave everyone alone?" the Avatar asked. Zuko didn't waste any time to agree—the only person he would ever want to hurt was his father, and perhaps his sister. His soldiers came forward and grabbed the Avatar by the arms, pulling him forward.

"No, Aang, don't do this!" One of the silhouettes had taken a few steps closer.

"Don't worry, Katara; it'll be okay. Take care of Appa for me until I get back!"

"Set a course to the Fire Nation!" Zuko ordered, as one of the unoccupied soldiers helped him into the boat. "I'm going home."

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"I'll return this staff once we've finished negotiating," Zuko said to the Avatar, who hadn't opened his mouth once in the past twenty minutes. "For now, you'll be taken to one of the spare rooms. I need to clean up before we talk." He pushed the staff at his uncle. "Take this to my quarters."

As he walked across the familiar deck of his ship, he heard Iroh pass the staff over to one of the crew members and smiled to himself; Uncle never changed. Zuko spent the next few minutes blindly cleaning up the remnants of his nosebleed, wincing every time the rough cloth made contact with his bruised nose. _I need to find out what that idiot boy hit me with, _he thought as he tended to the sluggishly bleeding gash on his forehead.

Zuko banged on the washroom door. "You there! Were you there to see what happened in the Water Tribe village?"

The soldier standing guard answered immediately. "Yes, sir, I was!"

"What the hell did that guy hit me with?"

"I think it was a boomerang, sir."

"Remind me to buy one when we reach the next town." His cut throbbed and he turned back to the door. "And get me some gauze!" Satisfied, he went back to cleaning his wounds. He could hear the soldier hurrying away to find the gauze.

It was nearly ten minutes later when there was a knock on the door. "Finally! You took your time getting that damn gauze!" Zuko accused, throwing the door open to find—huh? A young girl? "We have a stowaway!" he shouted, trying to catch the attention of anyone who might be nearby. "Somebody serve her some hot tea before throwing her overboard!"

"Did you hit your head when I knocked into you earlier?" the stowaway asked, sounding a little concerned. "I didn't mean to hit you _that_ hard."

Oh. It was the Avatar. "What are you doing out of your room?" Zuko said, annoyed. He stormed back into the washroom and continued dabbing at his cut. The thing wouldn't stop bleeding. "I told you I would come for you when I was done cleaning up."

The Avatar strode over to his bathtub and sat down on the edge. "They kept treating me like a prisoner, and I wanted to know where you put my staff," he chirped. A sudden gust of wind sent Zuko's long bangs flying in all directions. "Wow, that's a nasty looking scar. How did you get it?"

It seemed the staff had been recovered. "That's what I want to talk to you about," he said. Seeing as he refused to let Uncle see his injuries in their gruesome glory, they would be forced to have their meeting in his bathroom. "You _do_ know all four elements by now, right?"

"Er—about that..."

"Then you'll learn. We'll take you to the North Pole and the Earth Kingdom. I'll teach you Firebending myself," he sighed. Uncle would help, of course. Blind people didn't make very good teachers. "After you're done with that I'll take you to the Fire Nation and you'll defeat the Fire Lord. If he dies, everyone will be happy again."

The Avatar shook his head vigorously. "I won't kill anyone! That goes against everything the monks taught me."

Won't...kill? Damn those monks. His plans would be ruined, if he wasn't careful! "Just weaken him. I'll deliver the final blow. You won't have to kill anyone. Will that make you happy?"

His prisoner—no, his guest, he couldn't think of a little kid as his prisoner—didn't seem very happy. "Someone would still die. All life is precious; I can't just sit by and watch as someone is murdered."

Zuko resisted the urge to tear his own hair out. "Then leave the room while I kill him!" he exploded. Ozai would die! And Zuko would bathe in his blood! He wouldn't let his plan fail—it was all he had left. If he didn't have his plan, he would be nothing but a blind, worthless fool. Zuko wasn't worthless. He refused to be.

"But I would know what you were doing," the Avatar argued. "It would be wrong. And what makes you think we would be in a room, anyway? Maybe we would be outside."

That brat...Out of reflex, he blasted fire at the boy, who dissipated the flames without hesitation. "Get out!" he ordered. "Go back to your room! We'll talk more later."

Before the Avatar could move, there was a huge roar that vibrated the metal of the ship. Alarmed, Zuko began making his way to the deck, unaware that the Avatar was following him with a grin on his face. He bumped into walls and people on the way up, still disoriented from his meeting with the Water Tribe boy's boomerang.

"What is that?" he wondered, looking up at the huge red outline in the otherwise dark sky.

"Appa!" the Avatar cried gleefully. "Down here!"

Zuko automatically flinched when he felt a small hand rest on his arm. "What are you doing?" he demanded. "Get off of me!"

"Do you think Katara and Sokka could come with us to the Fire Nation?" the Avatar queried. "They're really nice. Maybe Katara can learn Waterbending with me at the North Pole!"

The girl was a Waterbender? Hadn't they been wiped out? Maybe the natives had hidden her somewhere while the raid took place. "Is Sokka the one with the boomerang?" he asked. The Avatar nodded. So Sokka was the one who had won against him in a fight. _He must be a feared and respected warrior in his village. Too bad he hit me with that boomerang...I might have actually said yes if he hadn't._ "No. They can't come with us."

Ignoring the Avatar's discontent "aww," Zuko watched as the blob of heat landed on the deck of his ship.

And was appropriately astonished when boomerang boy leaped at him and shoved him right off of his ship. _This is why I didn't want him coming with us,_ Zuko thought as he fell.

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Zuko landed with a splash, sinking like a stone into the icy water. He kicked furiously toward the surface of the ocean but found himself unable to move properly with his armor on: slight panic set in and he clawed at the water around him. _I can't see anything!_ Bubbles issued from his open mouth as he cried out and began thrashing.

The water was razor sharp with brittle cold, and it bit mercilessly at his rapidly freezing limbs. He couldn't see...he couldn't move...it was like he was paralyzed. Swallowing a large quantity of water, he choked and struggled weakly.

A pair of thick arms wrapped around his limp body, pulling him to the surface of the water. Zuko gasped for air and flailed awkwardly in his uncle's arms; his limbs twitched and spasmed as they hit the relative warmth of the deck of his ship. He vomited seawater. "Uncle," he gagged. "What just happened? Where...where is the Avatar?" The flying blob was nowhere to be seen. Did the Avatar have vanishing powers? Maybe he could teleport...

"The Avatar's friends came to rescue him. They wouldn't take no for an answer, sir," someone protested from a few feet water. "The peasant girl froze three of our men. Did you know she's a Waterbender?"

_Yes,_ Zuko thought, vomiting again. _Life really does hate me._

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**A/N: Life really does hate Zuko. Which is why I love using his character so much...I can torture him as much as I like, with absolutely no repercussions.**

**So how did you like it? =D**


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